One of the most important movements in the late ‘40s and early 50’s jazz, was the conscious effort of well-schooled, classically informed, creative jazz musicians to reflect not only their training but also a greater sense of structure and order in the jazz music they played and improvised on. It was a movement led by writers like Gil Evans, Gerry Mulligan, Ralph Burns, Tiny Kahn and Johnny Carisi, among others. Some, like Mulligan and Kahn, were also celebrated instrumentalists, but they all embraced both large and small group music.

Trumpeter Johnny Carisi (1922-1992), whose name endures as a notable one in this groundbreaking general movement, worked originally for bands such as Ray McKinley’s and, more significantly, Claude Thornhill’s, in which he also played at a period when the band was famed for its contemporary, boppish book written by Evans and Mulligan.

Appropriately, this compilation contains Carisi’s own 1956 recordings as a leader, as well some of his most celebrated compositions and arrangements played by other great groups, all fine examples of his contribution to this development in jazz. But, apart from his extensive and varied background as both player and writer, the one composition that made him a jazz legend is Israel, one of Miles Davis’s loveliest record arrangements, and for which Johnny Carisi will always be remembered.

Sources:

Tracks #1-7 were recorded for the album RCA Victor “Jazz Workshop – Johnny Carisi” that was scheduled as LPM 1371 but never released.

Track #8 from the album “Al Cohn – Mr. Music” RCA Victor LJM1024

Track #9 from the album “The Touch of Tony Scott” RCA Victor LPM 1353

Tracks #10-12 from the album “All About Urbie Green and His Big Band” ABC-Paramount ABC137

Track #13 from the Gerry Mulligan album “A Concert in Jazz” Verve V6-8415

Tracks #14-16 from the album “Gil Evans – Into the Hot” Impulse AS-9

Track #17 from the 78rpm disc “Miles Davis and His Orchestra” Capitol 57-60011